Jerusalem – Ma’an Report – The attacks of the occupation authorities on the people of Jerusalem have been escalating in recent weeks, including continuous raids, imposition of fines and various taxes, in addition to arrests, summonses and increasing demolitions.
Wadi Al-Joz neighborhood
In Wadi al-Joz neighborhood – the neighborhood closest to the Old City – 17 Jerusalemite families live in a state of anxiety and follow-up on their legal status, after being notified twice during the last week of the demolition of homes that have been standing for decades, under the pretext that “the land is green and construction is prohibited on it.”
The families explained that 70 individuals live in the homes, and they have been trying for years to license their facilities, but the municipality refuses the procedures. They added that the Nature Authority is seeking to control the entire land to turn it into an ‘open area.’
The residents pointed out that the occupation authorities have begun in recent years to implement
their project on the land of Wadi al-Joz at the expense of the residents, where they demolish homes, displace families, prevent construction, and turn the lands into open green areas and paths for settlers, or public parking lots.
Al-Issawiya town
In the town of Issawiya, a member of the town’s follow-up committee, Muhammad Abu al-Hummus, explained that a campaign of attacks on the town has been ongoing for more than a week, with raids taking place around the clock, setting up checkpoints inside the town and at its entrances, closing entrances, imposing fines, withdrawing vehicle licenses, in addition to raiding shops, confiscating goods, storming homes, and distributing summonses to the municipality and demolition notices.
Abu Al-Hummus pointed out that during the storming of Al-Issawiya, the forces were firing bombs, bullets, rubber bullets, and wastewater.
Continuous arrests
The occupation police said in a statement that during the last week, they arrested 489 Palestinians holding West Bank-Gaza ID ca
rds and those who transferred them, on the pretext of entering the city illegally.
Daily arrests of Jerusalemites from the city’s towns and neighborhoods continue.
In statistics from the Wadi Hilweh Information Center – Jerusalem, it said that since the war on the Gaza Strip, more than 3,775 cases of arrest have been monitored in Jerusalem, including more than 1,765 “West Bank and Gaza ID holders”, and 185 “demolition and bombing” operations of residential, commercial and agricultural facilities in the city were monitored.
Source: Maan News Agency